bjb@drutx.UUCP (BarnesBJ) (01/23/85)
A BOOK REVIEW- LAST CHANCE FOR PEACE BY: ARTHUR VANCE, EARTHVIEW PRESS 276 pgs. $9.95 (pbk) $12.95 (hcv) P.O. BOX 11036, Boulder, Colorado 80301 .SK There are two overriding themes in this book -- a fresh, new look at ourselves and a serious warning about the direction of the modern world. .SK The first part takes the reader on a tour around the world and into the body for a close-up look at life and how we fit into it...and how it fits into us. A liberal use of facinating comparisons and analogies illustrates that we humans, our nations and the myriad products we live with, are every bit as natural as the living systems flourishing along a coral reef or struggling to survive on an African savannah. .SK And "survival" is a key term here. "In order to survive as a species during the next few, critical decades it is vital that we come to understand the principals responsible for peace and conflict among our terrestial peers," says the author. .SK For the general reader, the part on spirituality may be the most intriguing because it is the most personal, exploring such realms as the need for morality, a bond with infinity, and the benefits and techniques of meditation. .SK For people with diversivied interests ranging from endorphins and viruses to the strengths and weaknesses of communism, the entire book is a treasure chest of fresh ideas. .SK How about the vast majority of people hoping to see the nuclear threat solved with arms talks? These readers might brace themselves while reading the last part. Vance contends that arms talks do for world peace what nasal spray does for pneumonia. They are "global decongestants" which can provide small, short term relief at best. .SK According to Last Chance it is the incompatibilities that deserve our attention -- bacteria vs. the body, or nation vs. nation -- not the buildup of harmful substances. We need to treat causes, not symptoms, if we hope to find an end to the threat of nuclear war. Think about it. .SK That last statement captures the desirable frame of mind for reading this book by Vance. "Think about it." Many thought provoking concepts are presented which need a lot of personal analysis. This is one of those wonderful little books that can be set aside and reserved for those quiet moments when the grey matter requests challenge and insight. .SK It is often said that nothing new ever comes along, but as you read this book you begin to wonder if that's really true. .SK For example, most of us think of a nation as a lump of land defined by the borders seen on maps. Vance erases these vague political borders from around nations to reveal distinct living structures struggling to carve a niche in the world. These massive life forms we call nations consists of people and the products they use-- no more, no less-- just as the body consists of cells and molecules. Nations are shown consuming natural resourses from the global ecosystem (just as a person eats food). And, like all other powered by energy. .SK Finally, near the end of the book it becomes clear that the "new" ideas in Last Chance are not really new at all; they have simply been uncovered in the readers own mind, carefully removed from under a pile of old, worn-out symbols -- flags, icons, money, political borders, alphabets, dogmas, ideologies and other abstractions which have been heaped on one by one over thousands of years of human development. .SK Last Chance For Peace presents a rather stark yet comfortable view of our planet, our nations, or religions and ourselves.